


patchwork

by starship_orion



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: FireRed & LeafGreen | Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen Versions
Genre: Blue/Red is background mainly, But you know we all gay out here, I could tag this as Let's Go Pikachu but that's not the game we're going for here, I'm also not tagging all the pokemon cause those are a lot of pokemon, Inspired by PokeSpe so the violence is p typical with it, It's structured more as someone telling you a story aloud than a novel tbh, Multi, Pokemon Journey, Worldbuilding, kinda unreliable narrator, reupload, welcome to 2020 cringe culture is dead i'm uploading a Pokémon fanfic from two years ago let's go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:02:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24901258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starship_orion/pseuds/starship_orion
Summary: A seventeen-year-old photographer is hired to take photos of Pokémon throughout Kanto for Professor Oak, but stranger and insidious things seem to be afloat in Kanto and Leo and his friends might be the only ones who can stop it.
Relationships: Ookido Green | Blue Oak/Red, Original Characters/Original Characters
Comments: 11
Kudos: 9





	1. Photograph

**_\- 1 -_ **

**_“Photograph”  
_ **

* * *

I like to see my life as a patchwork quilt. A patchwork quilt, with overlaying and oddly shaped patches that make up my story. They're different colors, different patterns, different events that have occurred in my life.

And don’t get me wrong, a lot has occurred in my life. But those are stories for a whole different time, okay? Because this first adventure begins the morning of October 2nd.

October 2nd in Viridian City, Kanto, is usually a quiet morning. Some of the trees have changed colors, but the city still retains the green hue. I was out on a mission that day.

A mission that could change the world. A very top-secret, strict mission.

You see, I work with the Professor Oak. The Professor Oak of Pallet Town. I don’t live there, per say, but I work with him. Well… I work for him. Under him. I work under him as an assistant to an assistant of his. And I was literally just running errands, but I took it as missions that could change the world.

First; I had to get a package from the Pokemart. Something special the Professor ordered, probably new parts for the latest version of the Pokedex. I wasn’t a snoop and I didn’t peer into it, I just placed it at the bottom of my bag and moved along. After that, I had to find a box of batteries, the batteries in the cameras at the lab died and they needed to be replaced.

What a mission, huh? What an exciting day. Don’t worry, it’s coming.

As I was digging through the batteries to find the right kind (damn old things only take a certain kind), I heard a gasp somewhere in the store.

“Oh, Blue!”

“Gym leader Blue!”

Ah, yes.  _ The _ Blue. Exciting, riveting, the gym leader himself, Blue Oak. He was wearing his usual gym clothes, his hair was a mess as usual and his green eyes looked down upon the trainers in the store with a bit of disdain, a bit of slyness, a bit of his usual attitude.

A small kid had run up to him, nearly knocking over the display of batteries I was digging through. “Mister Blue! Mister Blue!”

“Hey there, kiddo.” Blue greeted. The small kid had a piece of paper held tightly in his one hand.

“Can you sign this for me?”

“Sure!” He carries a pen everywhere, of course. He must love getting stopped for autographs. Personally, I’d find it quite tiresome, but that’s just me personally. He signed the paper with a sly grin and handed it back to the little kid. “Here ya go, kid!”

I could see the signature in my mind. His handwriting was terrible, and he signed his name under scribbles that were supposed to be his signature catchphrase- Smell ya later!. I know this because my friend has one. Not me, I don’t know what you’re talking about.

…Anyway. 

The kid had disrupted my digging through the batteries, so I had to start all over again. I did not want to go up and have to ask the person at the register if they had any of the batteries I was looking for. I already had to pick up and sign for the package in my bag. That’s enough social interaction my anxiety would let me have for the day. And since I was quiet and unassuming, Blue Oak began chatting with the register person and didn’t exactly see that I was there.

Or didn’t care, but I felt invisible everywhere I went so it never made a difference.

“Has my order come in yet?” Asked the Gym leader.

“Hmm… No, not yet.” They’d probably remember seeing something labeled OAK, BLUE in the storage room. “You ordered all those new lights for your gym, right?”

“Yeah. The lighting’s been going haywire for the past year. It almost broke and fell down on top of me in the middle of a battle. The kid won, but only on that note, and she’s been waiting to challenge me after it's fixed so it’s fairer or whatever.” Blue shrugged. “I never expected to have to do this when I signed up for it.”

The person giggled in response. “Well, you took over a gym that was only open for two days after years of being closed. So, it makes sense, at least.”

Blue shrugged.

Finally! I pulled out the package of batteries I was looking for. It was the right company and everything! Breathing a sigh of relief, I grabbed the box and walked it to the register. Again. This caught everyone’s attention and I flinched under their gazes.

I word it much more dramatically than it was. 

“Hey. You work with my Gramps, don’t you?” Blue pointed a finger at me.

I nodded, nervously. “Y-yeah, I do. Well, I work  _ for _ him. I’m one of his assistant’s assistants.” Okay, too much, too much. I’m just a simple kid running errands, please don’t attack me, Blue.

“How is the old man?” You wouldn’t believe how often the Professor rants about his grandson. Either because Blue has broken the family tradition of researchers—his sister is interned somewhere in Hoenn under a professor—and his parents followed similar paths, his father working in Silph Co. in Saffron while his mother worked under Professor Oak until she had kids and became more stay-at home. And that he never completed the Pokedex. And that he couldn’t be champion for ten whole minutes before Red showed up.

“…Good.” I lied. He saw right through it. I’m a terrible liar, I know. That’s gonna bite me in the butt one of these days.

“That man has never been ‘good’.” Blue rolled his eyes. “I’ll believe you, as long as he’s not overworking anyone.”

“He’s not!” My voice cracked too loudly. I cleared my throat. “I mean, not with me, anyway. I just take care of the Pokémon and get the pictures he needs.” I turned to the register person, who had gone silent. “Just these, please.” Please get me out of this situation. Please.

“That’ll be 200 Poké.” I handed over my cash and got the batteries, but Blue was still watching me. “Have a nice day!” They were cheery, but thus it comes when you have to work in retail.

As I grabbed my bag and quickly said, “Thanks, you have a good one too!”, though it was more like “Thanksyouhaveagoodonetoo!”, Blue stopped me.

“I’ll walk you back.” He offered. “Route 1 isn’t dangerous, but it’s not safe to go alone.”

Oh, no, was an oversimplification of what I was thinking. “Y-You don’t have to, s-sir! I’m fine by myself.” I’m not just some random kid without a Pokémon who has to run errands, I was a seventeen-year-old random kid with a Pokémon that had to run some errands.

“It’s fine. I ought to visit the ol’ man, anyway.”

Oh no just got amplified by ten. I’d never seen their interactions in person, but the assistants at the lab said I should consider myself lucky that I haven’t. Giving into the gym leader who was definitely older and stronger than me (both physically and in my Pokémon team), I let him walk back to Pallet with me.

* * *

“Ah, Leo!” Mr. White, my ‘boss’ and the man I’m an assistant to, greeted me as I walked in. “You’re back soon! And oh, Blue!’” His voice shook a bit at the end there, as did everyone who realized what was about to go down. “It certainly has been a while!”

“I was just walking the kid back. Is the old man around?”

I’m seventeen.

Mr. White nodded. There were visible balls of sweat rolling down his face. “Uh, yes, he’s in the back. Leo, did you get what we needed?”

I nodded. I pulled the package out of my bag and the batteries. Mr. White took them and placed them on his deck. “Do me a favor and replace the batteries, will you? And here’s the next list you’ve got.” He handed me a list of assorted Pokémon. I nodded, taking the list and folding it into my pocket. My desk, which was just a small table off to the side of Mr. White’s, had the camera I needed on it. I slung it around my neck.

This is what my job was, usually. Professor Oak would send my boss, Mr. White, a list of Pokémon. And he would give those to me. And that would be my job—getting pictures of these Pokémon. Sometimes I’d have to go to the routes and forests around to get pictures of them, other times it would just be in the yard.

“The professor is just out back. Leo will take you, right, Leo?” Mr. White looked at me.

I nodded, nervously. I think I was getting dumped to watch what apparently was not a pretty sight. Oh, joy. Making sure my camera was fully charged, I led Blue through the lab and out the back door. I’m pretty sure he knew the way through the place, he grew up in the lab, but it was a bit politer this way? I guess?

Professor Oak was feeding a group of Pidgey when we got out. He turned upon hearing the door shut, gave me a quick smile before turning to Blue. His face fell, turned stone cold. I’d known the professor as a bit kooky at times, a moody kind of dude who could get angry quickly if something didn’t go right but was ecstatic the next moment when he learned something new, but I’d never seen this face before.

“Ah, Blue. It’s great to see you again.” The bowl of Pidgey food was set calmly on the ground. “I got your message. I assume that’s why you’re here?”

Blue nodded.

This is when I decided to take out my list and ditch Blue. I didn’t care about what they were going to talk about, the list had a lot of Pokémon and there were only so many hours in the day and only so many times I allowed myself to run back into the lab and get another memory card. Taking too many pictures was never anyone really ever hated, but when it got chilly and the drafts started coming in and making the lab colder than it had to be, people got upset.

My first stop were the Weedles. With photographing Pokémon, sometimes you have to stay out of sight to get the pictures. Especially with wild ones. Urban Pokémon don’t mind getting their pictures taken- the two Meowth we have at the lab are absolute camera hogs. They love the attention. For a Weedle, you have to stay low and be calm, because any kind of jerky movement could upset them, and you could end up with a poison stinger in your hand.

_ Click-click. Click-click. _ I snapped a few pictures of the bug-types, sitting comfortably close to them, trying to be gentle to not upset them. The conversation from Professor Oak and his grandson, unfortunately, carried through the yard. It wasn’t as clear where I was, but I could hear some bits of it.

_ “…Is it true?” _

_ “…Don’t know… There was Johto a while ago… Could be back…Where’s Red?” _

_ “Who knows…doesn’t need to deal with this anyway.” _

_ “But he…” _

_ “…took down a criminal gang when he was twelve? Yeah, and…it messed him up. If they are back, the police can take care of them…” _

_ “Gramps— “ _

_ “…None of us know where he is. Drop it, Blue.” _

I tried to focus (ha-ha! A photography pun!) but their conversation was a bit distracting. No. It was very distracting. I crossed Weedle off my list and moved on to the Rattata, which were a bit closer to the conversation.

“If they are back— “

“Hopefully they aren’t.” Professor Oak sighs. “If they are, we can only hope Red comes back from wherever he is and helps if the police aren’t able to do their job.”

It clicked what they were talking about. I got a few of the Rattata before the small Pokémon became more interested in me and began playing with the strings on my hoodie and the lanyard around my neck. A couple years ago, when I was, like, barely able to walk and talk on my own, there was Team Rocket. This evil gang stole Pokémon and terrorized people with no end goal in mind. They disbanded after Red, the youngest Kanto champion at twelve, defeated their leader. And that was that. A few years ago, there had been a “Rocket Scare” in Johto, they got together to try and contact their leader, but the stand-in champion Lance and some kid named Crystal stopped them. And that was that.

Every few years there’s a scare of Oh, no! What if team Rocket is returning? But they never turn out to be true. Yet hearing it from Blue Oak, of all people…

Oh dear, it sends shivers down a person’s spine just thinking about it.

You know what, though? It’s not my problem, right? If it hasn’t affected me directly then it should not be my problem. Snapping a few more pictures of the Rattata being just too cute, I crossed them off the list and moved onto the next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I don't like writing in first-person much anymore (I've read one too many fanfic, I suppose), but I still enjoyed re-reading this, so I hope you guys enjoy reading it too!


	2. Predicament

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, quick note-- this story does deal with LGBTQ+ themes, and talks about neglect and emotional manipulation especially i later chapters. If you're triggered easily by the latter, stay safe!

**\- 2 -**

**_“Predicament”_ **

* * *

October 2nd was just the beginning of the end. As I finished transporting the final pictures onto the computer hard drives, it all went wrong. Because, of course it did.

I was the last in the lab that night. Everyone had left, Professor Oak had retired to his bedroom (a loft above the lab, he was really dedicated to his job), and I was just supposed to turn off the lights and make sure the door locked behind me.

Lounging a bit in Mr. White’s amazing rolling chair (the man has back problems, poor him, but it makes my late-night photo transfer job more comfortable), I scrolled through some of the more personal pictures I took with the personal memory card I had. Callalied, my one Pokémon and my amazing little Gastly, was floating around, waiting with me. I hated being alone, and Callalied was fonder of the night.

“Hey, Cal, look at this picture.” I motioned for the ghost-type to float over. He looked over my shoulder. It was a picture I’d taken earlier of a Tauros, leaning down to sniff a small Rattata. He grinned at it and made is usual chucking sound, a sound of positivity. “Is it Portfolio-worthy?”

Sure, I was working at Professor Oak’s lab, but I didn’t want to stay there. I wanted to go into freelance, to get hired by magazines and newspapers that would showcase my work in them. And the best way to do that was with a portfolio of my best work, of course! Even though my best work was centered around Pokémon, I had a few other things, too—my younger cousin’s trainer school graduation photos (he’s somewhere in Johto now, I think); a wedding of my mom’s friends, a few other photos I’ve taken myself on nights where I was hit with overwhelming inspiration—but most of it was Pokémon.

Cal nodded his amorphous body. It was a yes for him. I glanced at the loading screen, and it was still only 63% done. It felt like it’d been like that for an hour.

I sat up, setting my camera down on the desk, when I heard a crash. Now, in a lab setting, crashes aren’t good. Especially if it sounded like shattering glass as well. Cal was already looking around for the noise as I jumped up.

Who could that have been? Professor Oak was known to come into the lab random hours of the night if something had come upon him or if he needed a distraction, but he’d at least turn a light on. And not smash anything.

I grabbed the closest thing I could to a weapon (Pokémon aren’t always a safe bet if someone broke in with a bat), which was a camera tripod. It was sturdy enough, I suppose. I held it like a weapon and made my way through the lab.

There it was- the source of the strange crash. A broken window, glass everywhere on the ground surrounded by an average-sized rock. Huh. Weird. Why’d someone break a window?

Cal hissed at something behind me, and I turned around. There was the source of the broken window. It was a person, dressed in all-black, who was holding a Pokeball towards me.

My eyes widened. Shit. Literally, shit. My mouth went try and I felt my tongue turn to iron, I was too afraid to speak, to move. Thanks, general anxiety and cowardice, you really helped me out here. The person wore all black (best for breaking into places at night) and their hair was hidden by a black cap. “Alright, where is it?” They demanded.

“W-What? Where is what?” I was an assistant to an assistant. All I did was run errands and take pictures for everyone! “I’m sorry, I don’t— “

“The coordinates. The coordinates to him. You work here, right?” The person stepped closer, unafraid to make noise now. Cal floated in-between us, and glared, but the burglar didn’t seem much affected by it.

“Y-yeah, but I just- I just t-take pictures— “

“Damn it.” The person sighed. “Maybe you can still be of use.” He threw his Pokeball into the air, releasing a Koffing. The lab immediately became filled with a putrid stench, and I coughed. Gross. Koffing are cool Pokémon, but not for confined spaces like a Pokémon Laboratory. “Koffing, smokescreen!”

The lab was immediately filled with a thick, black smoke. It almost felt like the place was on fire. I coughed the moment I inhaled it, and I quickly used my sweater to cover my mouth so I could hopefully breathe a little better. I couldn’t see at all, either. The person made loud, clattering steps towards me.

Ah. They want to take me as a hostage, or something? I quickly ducked from their grasp and slid under a table. The burglar rammed their hip straight into it due to the momentum, but I didn’t let myself wince for them and kept moving low to the ground, where the visibility was at least a little bit better.

There was a bit clearer air near my desk, and I quickly grabbed what I could to try and defend myself, but I dropped my tripod by the burglar and I didn’t want to go back that way. I grabbed my camera, maybe I could throw it at the person’s head? I hated the thought of breaking it, but I had to get away.

The burglar easily found me (not that I was hiding). They grabbed for me again, and I slipped in holding the camera. The camera clicked, and I forgot I had the flash on, and it flashed right into the person’s eyes.

“Damn it, how bright is that thing?” The person screamed, rubbing their eyes. Temporary blindness seemed to halt them for but a second, and despite squinted eyes they jumped for me again.

“Spearow! Peck!” A new voice rang out. A blur flew through the air and hit the burglar straight on the head. They cried out in pain, stumbled back and hit the other side of their hip on the table. Youch.

Professor Oak, and his army of Spearow and Pidgey, had come to my rescue. Two Pidgey were gusting the smokescreen out of the lab, with a fainted Koffing in the background, while Spearow flew back to the old professor and landed on his outstretched arm.

“Damn it! Nothing is going right!” The burglar complained, pulling out another Pokeball. The Pokémon they released now was an Abra. “Teleport!”

Before we could stop it, the person was gone. They left their Koffing behind, fainted in the middle of our lab. Cal flew towards me, crying ghostly tears. I felt a few slide down my cheek, too, that was too much stress and too much anything in one day.

“Leo, are you okay?” Professor Oak rested a hand on my shoulder, looking into my eyes.

“I’m- I’m fine.” I hiccupped between tears. Okay, sure, I was crying, but that’s my natural response to anything. Happiness, sadness, anger, stress, fear… “I’m s-sorry, I probably w-woke you up--” It was probably loud enough for him to wake up, oh god, I felt even more terrible—

“You shouldn’t apologize, Leo.” Professor Oak sighed. Yup, he knew I was okay, that was great. “I was already awake. Your Gastly came and got me before anything bad happened.”

Cal nodded, sporting a heroic grin, before nuzzling into my cheek. I wrapped my arms around him and held tight. Fun and unrelated fact, Ghost Pokémon give the best hugs ever.

“What happened?”

“I was—I was t-transferring photos over. And t-the person must’ve b-broke through the window. T-They were looking for coordinates to ‘him’. Who’s ‘him’?”

Professor Oak sighed. He grabbed Mr. White’s chair and rolled it over so he could sit down. “Red’s. The coordinates are Red’s.”

I thought he didn’t know where the runaway champion was. I didn’t want to bring it up. Plus, that was in the conversation with Blue that I definitely shouldn’t have overheard. Oops. He continued, anyway.

“I have his coordinates, I know where he is. But I promised him I wouldn’t tell a soul, only his mother.” He explained. “Red wanted to go off by himself. He sent me a package, years ago, with his Pokédex and his coordinates in them. Told me to not tell anyone but his mother where he was. He needs to be alone.”

“W-Why—Why would someone want to know where h-he was?”

“If what my grandson said is true, I can only imagine.” Professor Oak sighed. “Leo, use the phone and call your mother. You’re going to have to be here when the police are here.”

I nodded. Of course. Just my luck.

* * *

My mother wasn’t bothered by it at all. She seemed more upset that her son had woken her up with a phone call than the fact her son almost got taken by some weird dude in black. Thanks, Mom.

The policeman who talked to me was very nice. He understood that I was visibly upset after everything had happened. I tried my best to explain what had happened to him. I told him exactly what I told the Professor. That someone broke in, looking for some data the Professor had. I didn’t specify what the Professor had. Just some data, or something. And that I didn’t know where it was when they cornered me, and they tried to take me hostage. And then Professor Oak came in with his mighty bird army and saved me! Unfortunately, they teleported away before we could get them.

“Do you know what he looked like?”

I thought for a moment. “I think they were, um, they were kinda tall. Their nose was crooked a bit. I couldn’t see their eyes, but they were pretty dark too. A-and he was pale, too, and… Maybe black hair? Brown hair? I’m- I’m sorry, it was r-really dark when he attacked.”

“It’s fine. It’s something to go off.” The officer looked at his notepad. “A crooked nose?”

I nodded. It was a crooked nose, crooked slightly to the left, as if it had been punched that way and never fixed.

“Thank you, Leo.” The officer said. “I can promise you we will do our best to try and catch this criminal. Do you need a ride home?”

I shook my head. Professor Oak had offered me the couch to sleep on for the rest of the night, it had gotten too late for me to walk anywhere, despite it being one route. And the dude might still try to grab me, if he’s still close by and knows what I look like.

That was that. They left, leaving me in the lab to myself, Professor Oak already gone to his handy little loft.

However, my body was full of adrenaline and I was much too awake to even think about shutting my eyes. Or I was overtired and just overthinking everything. Cal forced himself out of his Pokeball and nuzzled me again, clearly worried about me.

“I’m fine, Cal.” I said. “Well, not fine, I guess. But I’m okay. Thank you.” The ghost type nodded, before floating off into the lab. I stood up from the uncomfortable chair and made my way to collect my bag, that I’d left by my small desk.

Cal floated around my camera, grabbing the lanyard with his teeth before pulling it out. He had just become strong enough to solidify enough to pick up solid objects and touch things, but since he was a floating orb he could only really just use his mouth to pick things up. He floated it over and handed it to me.

“Thanks, Cal.” He grinned and chuckled at me. I looked at my camera for a moment, lucky the flash was on to temporarily blind the burglar. It was an accident that I pressed the button, but oops?

Wait. I pressed the button. I pressed the button. There was a click and a flash. My eyes widened, and I quickly turned my camera on to see what had come out. There was a photo on my camera of the burglar. Why didn’t I think of this before?

I switched modes and saw it. It wasn’t that pretty of a picture, the facial expression the burglar had on was very hilarious yet grotesque at the same time, caught mid-action. It was a bit blurry, too, but you could make out the face, the crooked nose, the bit of brown hair that fell out from the hat they were wearing. It was much clear, too, with the light on his face.

Definitely not one worth the Portfolio. But who knows, it could maybe help the police?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter uploaded because this story so far has 16 chapters and I have no self-control. Hope you guys enjoyed reading it! :D


	3. Preparation

**\- 3 -**

**_“Preparation”_ **

* * *

There’s something that Professor Oak does that some people might be familiar with. He gives out starter Pokémon to people who decide to apply to go on a journey. Personally, I never applied to do that thing, and now that I have Cal registered with my license, I’m not qualified.

But early in the morning shifts, he takes in kids and teenagers who’ve decided to maybe take up the gym challenge, maybe want to travel and become the strongest, to do their heart’s content with a starter Pokémon they might not have been able to get normally.

I still hadn’t gone home, but I had managed to doze off with Cal a couple hours after the incident. The ghost-type hadn’t returned to his Pokeball, either—he was worried about me, I suppose. I was worried about myself, and that I hadn’t yet turned in the photo of the burglar.

Why was I so hesitant about it? It made no sense to why I was waiting, why I didn’t want to, I wanted the guy caught, right? But there were other things to do, and it slipped my mind for a few moments before coming back. I should probably turn it in, soon, but I still didn’t want to?

It made no sense to me whatsoever. Plus, I had to help Professor Oak get ready for the trainers that would be coming in to get their starters.

Starters which include common ones like Pidgey, Rattata, and Caterpie, or the rare ones, Squirtle, Charmander or Bulbasaur. The latter actually tend to cost money to reserve ahead of time because of how rare they are nowadays, fun fact.

“So, who will be coming in today?” I asked as I swept the floor. For some reason, the incident last night made me feel a bit… calmer around the professor. Or, at least, not as nervous as I usually was.

“Three trainers. They reserved their starters, and they’ll be here soon.” Professor Oak explained. He pulled out his paper. “Ryan, Aster and Citrine.”

Wow, what pretentious names. Wait, Citrine? “Citrine Anders?” I asked, my voice raising nervously.

“Yes. Do you know her?”

Unfortunately. “Y-yeah, she’s my… my cousin.” I hadn’t seen her in years. She and her mom, brother, and step-dad moved to Johto four years ago. Last I heard of her, she was working with a modeling company of some sort. But I thought she already had a Pokémon?

“Citrine is a part of a project the League started this year.” Professor Oak explained as he reached into our handy-dandy Pokeball Storage Machine (patent pending) and found the three Pokéballs for the starters. “It’s some sort of… reality show. I’m not entirely sure. They’re filming everything, I think, and the camera crew will be here later.”

“Oh. Even better.”

“The other two, however, are not part of the show.” Professor Oak sighed. Good, good. That’s always good. I nodded, sweeping the last of the dirt and glass into a dustpan.

This was going to be a pretty cool thing, I think. I never had to come in this early (well, I didn’t come in, I just never went home) to work at all. So, I always missed seeing starters being given away and new trainers being sent off on their merry way. Especially not the starters that you have to reserve, the three famous starters that Professor Oak has to order off from a rare breeder near Mt. Silver. It was exciting, it made my mood just a little bit brighter then. I’d probably see myself out by the time Citrine came along, but I’d get to see two people claim their starters today!

“Oh, Leo.” Professor Oak looked up from his desk a few moments later. He was tinkering with his newest edition of the Pokédex. The Pokédex he doesn’t give out to anybody. (Contrary to popular belief and those Sunday-morning cartoons, though, people who reserve starters get a complimentary Pokédex, but they’re already filled out and just have nice detailed information in it already.) “I have a request to ask of you.”

I looked up from sweeping and cocked my head. What kind of request?

“As you know, the next edition of the Pokédex is being worked on.” He set it down to prove his point, before standing up and rubbing his oily hands on his lab coat. Don’t worry, he has twenty of the same white lab coat. “But there is important data missing from it. The first Pokédex had my grandson and his friend, but the information needs updated, as do the display photos.”

Oh? This was strange. I’d never really heard much about the Pokédex either before this, just that it was the thing people use in the TV shows to identify Pokémon. I never had an interest in it, my focus was on cameras. (Oops, another pun, hahaha!)

“I would like to ask you to do that for me.” Professor Oak said.

…what.

What?

What?????

I blinked. “U-um, wait, please, explain it to me a bit more?” I couldn’t believe what he was saying. He couldn’t possibly mean me, shy and anxious Leo, go out and meet every single Pokémon there is?

“There would be payment for this, of course.” The professor explained. “You would go around Kanto and photograph every Pokémon you can. Think of this as… a commission for your portfolio.”

Traveling Kanto. Taking photos of every Pokémon. It’s a dream come true, how lucky would I have to be for this? It was almost unbelievable. It seemed too good. And I’d get paid for it?

“I… I don’t know what to say.” I said honestly. “This is just – it feels too unreal.”

“If you would like some time to think on it— “

“No! I mean, um, sorry, but no, I definitely want to go!” Cal, who had floated by my head, nodded in delight. “I guess I just…” There would be so much to prepare for! So much stuff to get together. “…There’d be so much to do to get ready, wouldn’t there? I’d have to make sure my license was renewed, a-and I’d---“

“Of course. Take your time, Leo.” Professor Oak said. “You don’t have to go out immediately. The faster you get out the— “

Too late. I was already bolting towards Viridian to get my stuff together.

* * *

Now, if there’s something else you need to know about me, is that I have unnecessarily bad timing. I ended up arriving back at the lab a few hours later, just at the precise moment when she was here.

_ ‘She’  _ being my cousin, Citrine. You might think that’s a weird name, but in Kanto, that’s just how naming goes. My name is considered unusual in Kanto, in fact, but that’s not the point because I ran into Citrine, who worked as a model for a small company for a bit before ending up somehow back in Kanto on a television show.

And they’d just finished filming the first part of their pilot episode. Oh joy.

I walked in, saw the cameras, and was about to promptly walk out when I heard, “Is that who I think it is?”

Oh, Arceus is just an understatement. In the last few years since I last saw my cousin, I’d like to say she’s changed a bit. Taller. Her hair was a shade orange-r than before (she’d argue with you it’s strawberry blonde, but it looked as orange as a Charmander), she had pounds of makeup on her face, but on the bright side, she had the same disdain and condescending look in her eyes when she spotted me.

“You’re still working here, huh, Leo?” She asked, crossing her arms.

I gulped. “Oh, hi, Citrine…” I said quietly, my eyes kept closely on cameras. I liked to be on only one side of them, mind you, and the side I like was definitely not the front! “...A-and it’s only been a few years…”

Four. It’s been four years. But I liked it at the laboratory!

“Hmph. Figures, knowing you.” She looked me up and down. “Still have that obnoxious yellow sweater, I see.”

“It’s not- it’s not obnoxious.” The yellow sweater I wore ever had faded a bit, it wasn’t as highlighter-esque as it had been before, in my defense.

She rolled her eyes as a man I didn’t know walked over. He was dressed in a red velvet suit (the color of the cake, not actually velvet…hopefully) and had his hair held back by a lot of gel. Oh, and these ridiculously cool black sunglasses. Like, from that one meme, but not pixelated and real, and yeah, I was jealous, they looked cool. “Ah, Citrine, do you know this prepubescent boy?”

_ I’m only seventeen…. _

“Yes, this is my cousin. Leo.”

The man nodded. He took my hand (that wasn’t even outstretched) and shook it tightly. “A pleasure to meet you, Leo. You can call me The Director. If you weren’t aware, this is a filming location at the moment, and we still need some time to clean up. So, if you don’t mind— “

“He’s fine.” Professor Oak said, stepping out of the shadows. “Leo works for me. He’s just here to get some things.”

The Director nodded. Wow, what a cool alias to go by, too. The dude was emanating cool waves. “Yes, of course, Apologies, Professor. Carry on, Leo.”

I nodded. As I turned to squeeze past some of the (beautiful, glorious, lovely) camera equipment, I was stopped by Citrine yelling, “Wait!”. Everyone froze for the princess. “Leo, I’m going to challenge you to a battle!”

Um.

I turned around.

“W-What?” I stuttered out.

The Director scratched his chin, before nodding. “Hmm, yes, Citrine, this is a good idea.” He turned to the people just beginning to pack up the equipment. “Alright, stop what you’re doing. We’re going to veer off-script a bit and have a battle.” A few grumbles.

Oh no, this wasn’t good. My heartbeat skyrocketed, and I backed into the wall without realizing it. A couple of books fell off a table near me after I knocked my hip on it. I had a feeling this wasn’t going to be a good idea. I was going to be on TV? I’m just Professor Oak’s assistant’s assistant, I’m just a random kid. I didn’t want to do this, but the glare from my cousin was enough to set me in my place.

Welp. I didn’t have a choice.

“Impatient teens and having battles in my lab…” Professor Oak mumbled to himself. He looked at me. “You know where everything important is. Please don’t try and destroy anything.”

I nodded. “O-Of course not, Professor.” If anything got destroyed it would be the fault of Citrine and her… She released a Charmander.

Of course, she had to go with the favorite. Personally, when I got to take the pictures, Bulbasaur was the most-easy going and chill with it. The Charmander, however, immediately recognized me and ran over to hug my leg.

“H-hey, buddy…” I pat his head. “Go over to Citrine, okay? We’re going to battle now.”

Another plus of being out in the field with Pokémon all the time—they know me, I know them. It’s mutual understanding. He nodded, with a determined, mischievous grin on his face, before running off to stand by Citrine. He was the most energetic of the three starters that I’d managed to get pictures of, and I was happy to see him go to a good home, too.

Citrine may be a bit condescending and mean, but she knows how to treat Pokémon with respect. Hopefully.

“Alright! Let’s get this battle on the road!” The Director chimed in, clapping his hands. The cameras were turned towards me and Citrine, and Charmander, too.

I gulped. “C-Cal, come on o-out.” I released my Gastly from his Pokeball. He looked a bit confused at the sight around him, but he saw Charmander ready to fight, and he shook himself out of his snooze and got ready for a fight.

I’d let Citrine have the first move. It was the polite thing to do, not just because she was a lady. But also, because I couldn’t remember any of Cal’s moves off the top of my head to call out first.

“Alright, Charlie!” Citrine said. “Use Ember!”

The Charmander looked at her confused. He wasn’t a high enough level to have learned that.

“Do you not know it?” Charlie shook his head. “Alright, fine, then scratch!”

Okay, she was not very adept in battling. How did she manage to get this TV show gig again? Charlie, confused, nodded anyway and jumped into the air to scratch Cal…

…only for the move to go right through him. So much for that, huh?

“What the hell?”

“N-Normal type m-moves don’t affect g-ghost types!” I mumbled, probably not loud enough to be picked up on the cameras. “C-Cal, use lick!”

Cal darted through the air, got his semi-corporal tongue out and gave Charlie a big ol’ lick. Ew, gross, I know, but Cal was only about level six and knew three movies, okay? Charlie shuddered, but shook it off, quickly enough.

Citrine grimaced. This wasn’t going as well for her as she thought. “Charlie, keep trying to scratch it! It has to hit sometime, right?”

She really didn’t understand type-matchups, did she? She kept trying, at least, or she was trying to play the part of the “inexperienced beginner”, or whatnot.

“L-Lick, again, C-Cal!” I said meekly. Cal nodded and dove into giving Charlie another good ol’ lick. Sorry, Charlie. Charlie shuddered, and shook it off again, but he was still a bit tense.

Ah, the symptoms of a paralysis coming on. Working in a laboratory, you tend to learn a lot of things. I was the photographer, but I was also the one around Pokémon the most. Not to mention the lab is the only place in Pallet that has a machine that can heal Pokémon. Trainers usually come from nearby routes to do that.

And for her first televised battle, Citrine was acting like a newbie. Again, it could’ve been just an act, and if it was, wow, she was really good and it makes sense why they picked her. The Director was stoic, I noted, glancing at him as my dear cousin yelled out another chorus of “Scratch!”

We could’ve been there forever. If it weren’t for the fact that Cal had a level or two over Charlie and managed to knock down the fire-type eventually. After, like, ten minutes of licking. When the battle was over and Cal returned to my side, he pouted, as if to say, Charmanders don’t taste good.

Citrine was in shock, but she quickly composed herself. “You may have won this time, Leo, but when we meet again, I will be stronger!” She said like a heroine.

I nodded. Yeah, okay. I doubt it but yeah, okay.

“…And, cut!” The Director said. He didn’t show any other emotion. “Citrine, darling, that was an amazing first battle for the show. A bit slow, but that’ll be fixed in edit.” Then, he turned to me. “Leo, I expect to see you out on the road with us.”

“O-oh, no, I won’t—” Oh yeah, I will. “U-um, yeah, okay.” Great. I’ll be on TV.

Citrine didn’t seem too pumped with the idea. As soon as The Director walked away, she stomped over to me and grabbed me by the shoulder. Rather tightly, I might add. “Look, Leo. Don’t let this battle get to your head, okay? You just had an advantage. Next time you won’t be so lucky.” Citrine paused. She laughed, like she’d just said a joke, but she didn’t. “Of course, if you even last a day out there!”

Ah, that’s the girl I missed. Hahaha, sarcasm, I didn’t really miss her at all. Her crude remarks were the worst, she was snobbish and insufferable…Gosh, if only I had the courage to fight back against her, but nope. I’m kinda small and easily frightened. But I managed to say something pretty cool, if I do say so myself.

“Take good care of Charlie.”

Alright, so maybe I mumbled it and was more like, “J-just take good care of Charlie, o-okay?”. But this is my story and I can make myself seem cooler than I actually am. That’s how these work, right?

  
  



	4. Placid

**\- 4 -**

_**"Placid"** _

* * *

“Now that that…fiasco is over with.” Professor Oak let out a long sigh. “Here are the things you need for the journey ahead.”

I felt special; I had beat Citrine in a battle (only because I had an advantage), and I was chosen to go on a special mission by Professor Oak! I just hoped I wouldn’t end up messing everything up in the process. He turned to his desk, grabbing a folder and a tablet.

“I assume you’ll be taking your camera, right?” I nodded, Cal was currently holding it because…well, he just went and grabbed it, that’s why. He handed me the folder first. It was yellow, nice. Favorite color there. “These are just some papers for reference. Some of them detail locations of harder-to-find Pokémon, some of them are passes you can use to get to places someone might not normally get to spend much time in, such as the Safari Zone, and an application for your license renewal and an application for a passport.”

“Passport?”

Professor Oak shrugged. “You never know.”

I… I guess he had a point.

He handed me the tablet next. It was barely thicker than the folder itself, which was pretty thin already. “This is what you can take notes on. Record as much data as you can, along with the pictures. My assistants will work with you more on this aspect of the project, combining your data with the data we currently have in order to make the next version more accurate. It’s pretty durable…” He proves its durability by bending it in front of me. It bends in to a perfect curve, before flipping back out. “…But if it gets damaged somehow, call me.”

I nodded, taking the tablet. It slid perfectly into the pocket of the folder. “Anything else I need to know?”

He shook his head. “That’s all, for now, I suppose. I would recommend stopping by your house and saying goodbye to your mother before you leave, at least.” He rested a hand on my shoulder, gently. It stung a bit from Citrine’s terrible grip earlier, but I didn’t flinch. Maybe I twitched a bit, but I didn’t flinch. “Don’t just hide in the woods all day for Pokémon. Some Pokémon live in urban areas, you know. Get out, be social, try to make friends. Take advantage of this opportunity but remember to do your work as well.”

Wow, my mentor was giving me a lecture on making friends. _Thanks, Professor Oak._ I nodded for a third time, nonetheless. “Yessir!”

“Alright, Leo. Your adventure is about to begin. Good luck out there!”

It was. It was starting.

A dream come true. I turned on my heel, slid the folder into my bag (which was already packed), and grabbed my camera, ready to face the world.

Unfortunately, as soon as I took a step outside I fell flat on my face. My sneaker had become untied. But that’s okay, no one saw it and Cal totally didn’t laugh at me for it. Well, maybe Cal saw and laughed, but I was okay! Really! And what better way to start a new adventure than Leo-style?

* * *

Route 1. It’s a short route full of basic Pokémon that I’m sure the lab has a ton of data on, along with the few surrounding Viridian. I wrote down basic observations of the Pokémon on the route before breaking out the camera.

Oh, it was still stuck on the picture-viewing mode. It was still stuck on the burglar. Their face looked even more hilarious in this instance, for some peculiar reason. I didn’t delete the picture; I just switched modes so I could take pictures of the Pokémon.

And that was the rest of my day. I took pictures of the Pokémon on the route until I ran out of storage (that’s how I do it), and by the time that happened, the sun had climbed over the horizon and was shining golden through the slightly-colour-changing leaves. I couldn’t help but take a picture of that, too. Hey, my Portfolio doesn’t have to be all Pokémon related.

I began to make my way to Viridian as that picture was snapped. Cal was out of his Pokeball after a nice nap after his tiring battle (and the few he had to fight, wild Pokémon can be a bit aggressive sometimes, I know) and he was floating and enjoying the warm sun, even if it made his visible form fade a bit.

That’s what I found so cool about Ghost-types. Did you know, if a Ghost-type doesn’t have a lot of mass as a physical body, shining bright lights onto them distorts and fades the physical body a bit? That’s really the reason why Ghost-types aren’t out a lot in the day, along with evolving to become nocturnal, they can’t be seen well in brightly lit places. In deep forests and urban areas, it’s easier to live, and that’s what led the Gastly line to mostly adapting to more urban settings, like cities.

Sometimes you can still find Gastly out in the dark, but that’s at night.

Walking through the route, with just the sounds of the Pokémon echoing through the late afternoon air, the smell of changing seasons (despite the trees not showing it) …It was great. I could get used to this.

Of course-- I never have gone further than Pewter. And that was on a trip with Mr. White. Who, might I add, has a level forty Heracross. Nothing messed with us that time, but this time it was just me and Cal against the world.

Or so I thought because just as I could see Viridian in the distance, I heard a screech, and someone fell out of a tree in front of me. I halted in my steps. It definitely wasn’t an acorn. It was a kid, maybe my age. Their hair was dyed blue, you could tell because their roots were still brown. “What the hell?” They screamed, sitting up. And then their Pokémon (or what I assumed to be their Pokémon) fell on them, forcing them back down. “I hate flying-types so damn much!”

The Pokémon—Bulbasaur! —grunted in agreement. She shook her head, trying to get the leaves off of her bulb, before noticing me. Her eyes widened, and she chirped at me in excitement.

“Hey, girl.” I squatted down as she ran to me and rubbed my leg. So, this must’ve been one of the trainers who came before Citrine—which means that neither of them chose Charmander willingly, now that I think about it.

“Di, come on, don’t just…” The person finally noticed me. “Oh, did I fall in front of you? Sorry.”

“You’re f-fine!” Social interaction? Welcome back, anxiety and nervous stutter! “Are you o-okay?”

They nodded. “Yeah. Pidgey, man. A flock of them are brutal.” They stood up and brushed off their jeans. “I’m Aster, by the way. Do you now Di?”

“I work—I work with the Professor, a-actually.” I said, raising my camera to show what I do. I hated explaining things.

Oh, you work for the Professor Oak? You must be really smart! Give me some knowledge? Uh, no, sorry, I just take pictures, but I can tell you that fire-types and water-types have glands in them that allow for the dispersal of fire and water, but they don’t usually mature until levels six, seven, and so on…

“Oh, that's cool!" Aster said. He paused. "…You wouldn't happen to know the way to Viridian, would you? I'm a bit…lost."

"U-uh, yeah!" I didn't bother questioning why he wouldn't know the way, because, who knows! This kid could be from a totally different part of the world, for all I know. "I-I'm heading there. J-Just- um, yeah, follow me. It's this way."

Obviously. Duh. Ugh, I hate myself sometimes.

Aster followed me blindly, and a bit…loudly. Bulbasaur (Di, now) was returned to her Pokeball and instead of walking silently through the golden hues of the setting sun, the background noise of the forest surrounding us peacefully, Aster started…talking.

And for once it wasn't that bad.

"So, what do you do for Professor Oak?" I lifted the camera. He smirked, rolling his eyes. "Not what I meant. What's with the camera?"

"Oh! Um, I help out in t-the lab w-with the camera. I work with the- the technology, I run errands, and I take the p-pictures people need for their research." I cleared my throat. "Sorry, it's kinda boring, I- I know."

"It's not boring." Aster said. "I find it… interesting. It's different, you know? Most people who work with the professors are, like, wanting to be a scientist or a professor or something one day. But you're different. It's different, it's cool."

I blushed. I'd never been told something like that before. That what I was doing was different, was "cool". I'd heard that it was a stupid job, that it was a nerd's thing, that I should find something better to do with my time, that even taking on the gym challenge was a better use of my time then fiddling with my camera in the woods. My mom, Citrine, friends, strangers, they all think they know what's cool and what's not for me.

Aster was the first person to think what I was doing was cool, just in general.

I'd been silent for too long. I made it awkward already. Aster was looking at me, a bit concerned. "Uh, sorry! It's just, u-uh nobody has ever really said that to me. It was a bit- a bit jarring to hear, that's all."

"Oh." It appears he didn't have any words to counter that. "Well, I think it's cool."

"T-Thank you." I glanced ahead. I could see the outskirts of the city already. The sun had begun to dip, and the light was fading pretty quickly now. "Um, do you need to k-know where the Pokémon Center is?"

The good thing about living in Viridian is that I had a key to a small apartment I shared with my mom, so I didn't have to be in a public place like the Pokémon center. Though, they usually provide traveling trainers with mats and blankets to rest in, which is good, but that's a lot of people in one place.

"That would be great! Thanks, um…"

"Leo!" I hadn't even given Aster my name yet? Inconceivable! Well, that was even more awkward. I'm pretty sure I have a crown in the back of my closet that has "King of Awkward Conversations" written on it, and I'm due to be getting a new one soon, seeing how this is going. "S-Sorry."

"You're fine." Aster said.

* * *

After dropping Aster off at the Pokémon Center and waving farewell, I headed back to our apartment. It was a bit dinky, but Viridian was a bit of a dinky city as well. I released Cal again as the city became dark and the street lights went on, because I felt like it, okay? It wasn't like I was super paranoid or anything in the dark.

Plus, Cal enjoys the night air. It's refreshing to him. And whatever makes him happy makes me happy, too.

I got to my door and dug out my key. The house was quiet, as usual. I opened the door carefully to find a dark home.

"Mom?"

No response. I set my bags down by the door, ready to take them out the next day, and turned some lights on. The same old furniture, the same television, the same kitchen greeted me. Nothing new.

"Moomm?"

Still, no response.

I sighed. Knowing her, she was out again. I probably wouldn't even see her when I left tomorrow morning for the biggest adventure of my life. I didn't know where she was, and I couldn't bring myself to care.

Now, wait. Before you go on and attack me, you'd probably need some context. My mom never had a stable job in the 49 years of her life. She was a massive drifter and met my dad at some bar (I think, I don't know the whole story myself) and the next morning she found out she was pregnant with me. And the only reason she got an apartment was because his family was a rich one and my dad paid her off to keep their one-night stand a secret.

Something to that extent. My mom's still a drifter and leaves every few nights for either job opportunities in Pewter or to bar-hop with friends, ending up passed out in someone else's house. It's been this way since I was 12, I'm fine.

No, I'm not fine but I'm used to it.

"Guess no good-bye from her, huh?" She wasn't home earlier, either. I'd just assumed she was out at one of her part-time jobs.

Cal nuzzled me, comforting the empty feeling in my heart.

"I'm fine." Liar. "Let's just get to bed. A big day tomorrow." Not a lie, though I wasn't exactly tired.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is staying safe out there amid this, uh. Global issue. It's a lot to deal with, so if my story can grant you a little bit of rest from the world, that'd be pretty good. Idk. Words don't work right at 12:30 am.
> 
> I've got a fandom tumblr now! [@spaceshiporion ](https://spaceshiporion.tumblr.com/) !


	5. Passion

**_“Passion”_ **

* * *

Viridian Forest in the morning was very, very beautiful, especially at this time of the year. Some of the leaves were turning orange, yellow, and red, but most of the forest stayed true to its name hue, green. The golden rays of the sun shone through the branches, lighting up blotches of the grass below. It was the perfect time to get pictures.

Unfortunately, I was not a morning person, and with a thermos full of black, heavily caffeinated tea, I began my journey into the forest.

Before leaving the city I used to call my home, I’d also grabbed a few supplies from the Pokémart, including a few spare Pokéballs and a bag of Special Ghost-Type Brand Pokéfood (hard to find, but luckily there was a bag), both of which weighed down my old bag. The straps were going to break soon, but I didn’t have the money yet to buy a new one. I felt ready and prepared for this journey, ready and prepared for the first time ever in my life.

Wow, exciting!

The forest echoed with the chirps and scuttles of Pokémon in the underbrush. It was almost peaceful.

“Hey, you!” A voice broke through the trees around me. A young kid with a giant net ran up to me. “You’re a trainer, right?”

I froze. “U-Um, yeah, I guess?” I was technically a trainer. But I wasn’t much of a fighter, mind you. What I did with Citrine was totally, 100% based on luck, and the fact that Charlie the Charmander hadn’t learned how to use ember yet.

“Sweet!” The kid threw a Pokeball in the air. Out popped a Caterpie. “Battle me!”

There’s this unspoken rule as a trainer that when someone challenges you, you don’t just say “no”. The worst thing you could say is “maybe later”, because maybe your Pokémon are hurt or something. But when you’re challenged to a battle, you’ve either got to win or lose. It’s unspoken, and I hate it. 

Even if it was a  _ spoken _ rule, I would hate it.

But… The upside of trainer battles? Money. I could use a bit more pocket change, I don’t have much to my name and Professor Oak said I’d be getting my first check at about the same time I’d probably hit Cerulean.

“O-Okay.” I released Cal from the ball. And the battle began.

“Katie, use string shot!” The kid called out. Katie the Caterpie nodded, and shot a sticky webbing towards Cal. He tried to duck out of the way, but a bit of the sticky webbing hit him solidly enough and brought him down.

“C-Cal, g-go in for a lick.” I meekly said. Meekly, as in, Cal glanced at me, confused at first, before realizing I was calling out one of his only attacking moves. He nodded, and dove in towards Katie, giving her a big lick.

Yet again, ew.

Katie shuddered, shaking a bit. Ah, Paralysis. One of the assistants at the lab was set upon working out why Paralysis can be caused by a lick, since the move isn’t an electric-type move. Apparently when Pokémon lick other Pokémon it’s so gross that the licked can become paralyzed with the fact they just got licked.

“Katie? You okay?” The kid asked. The Caterpie shook herself clean before nodding, though still thoroughly disgusted and paralyzed. Same, Katie. “Alright, go for a bug bite!”

One of the newest moves discovered, I remembered. A move that allows bugs to nibble on other Pokémon to attack. Cal, still caught up in a bit of sticky webbing, was attacked by the small Caterpie.

I realize the way I’m describing it makes it seem a lot more epic than it actually was. Trust me, it wasn’t that cool. It was just two small Pokémon fighting on the forest floor. Another lick, and Katie the Caterpie was down for the count.

“Wow, you beat me!” The kid laughed, handing over a couple of Poke. “Here, take this for winning.”

I felt bad.

_ But I needed the money. _

But I felt bad.

So, I took it graciously, and handed the kid one of the Potions I bought. “Here, help your Caterpie out.”

The kid’s eyes widened. “Wow, thank you!” Taking the potion, he used it on his Caterpie to heal her wounds. Of course, it didn’t do much, potions aren’t usually that strong, but she did get a little better. “If we run into each other again, I’m taking you down!”

“O-Okay!” Sure. Whatever. I wanted out of these stupid woods.

* * *

I walked a little further after returning Cal to his Pokeball to rest, and looked around for a place to set up for the day to get pictures. I’d hope to find one spot in the entire forest, and travel through it when the sun goes down and everyone is trying to get out or find a place to rest, the time of day least likely that one would get involved in a Pokémon battle.

The less social interaction, the better, in my opinion. I found a comfortable little clearing and set up my stuff, which included digging out a camera tripod (just in case) and making sure I had room in my SD card for all of it (which I did).

And now came the waiting game.

Taking photos of wild Pokémon is like trying to fish for wild Pokémon. You have to be patient in waiting for the nibble on the line; you have to be patient in waiting for the right second for the right shot. Patience is usually key for snapping the perfect pictures. It’s a doctrine I fabricated for myself, to live on, in the moments when it matters, holding my camera and angling it so the light hits the Pokémon just right, and I can just go…

…Click.

A wild Caterpie, eating an Oran berry. Click.

A flock of Pidgey with a lead Pidgeotto taking a break from flying from who-knows-where in search of a warmer climate for the winter. Click.

A Pikachu, resting in a tree with another Pikachu. Click. That might be Portfolio-worthy.

A trainer’s legs standing right in front of my camera. Cli… wait, what?

“I knew I’d run into you again!” Surprise, surprise, it was Aster again. He stood right in front of my lens, his arms crossed and a determined grin on his face. Di the Bulbasaur stood behind him, doing the Bulbasaur kind of giggle, which is more like short breaths in a rapid succession.

“Oh. H-Hi?” It was so great when people decided to interrupt my photo sessions, you know? I tried to hide my annoyance, he probably only meant the best for it. “What- what are you, um, doing?”

Aster shrugged. He turned and plopped in the grass right next to me. “I don’t know, really. I’m trying to find a good Pokémon to tackle on the Pewter Gym with, but I’m out of luck.”

I nodded. Why was he telling me all of this? Is this how… mentally stable people talked to each other, openly like this?

“I looked it up ahead of time—Rock-type, right?” He didn’t wait for a response. “So, Di here has it in the bag, but I’d hoped for another Pokémon before I took it on. It seems unfair to her.” Di nodded.

So, Aster was taking on the Gym challenge too, huh? I wonder if he’d cross paths with Citrine like I did, and get declared a rival, only for it to never happen on TV. The odds of that were slim, Citrine probably didn’t have to spend late nights out in the woods like other trainers did. Probably spent her nights in a fancy-as-heck RV on a campsite away from the Viridian Forest. Maybe they’d go out and shoot a few shots for the TV show, to make it seem like Citrine was braving the forest.

That’s how reality TV worked, anyway.

“…And then I saw you hanging out here and thought, man, he looks lonely. So, I thought I’d come over.” Oh, Aster was still talking to me and I missed, like, half of that conversation. Oops. “So, what’s up?”

I held up my camera.

“Well, yeah, obviously.” Aster rolled his eyes. “But what are you doing with that?”

“T-Taking pictures.” I wasn’t a talkative kid.

Aster chuckled, apparently this was amusing him. “No, but what are you taking pictures for? I know you work for Oak, but isn’t this a bit… far out?”

Oh. Oh. “Um, O-Oak gave me a special job. He’s, uh, working on his new version o-of the Pokédex. A-And he needs updated p-pictures. A-And he gave me the, um, the job. To do that.”

His eyes widened in shock. “What the hell? Really?” I was prepared to hear, Oh, gee, that’s stupid. Or How boring. What happens next may shock you, it shocked me. “That’s so cool!”

I blinked. _ It was…cool? _

“So, your pictures are going to be in the new Pokédex?”

I nodded, my fingers playing with the buttons on the camera. “Y-Yeah?”

“That’s so cool. Wow, dude.” Aster grinned at me. “I’m going to have to get a new Pokédex once I become a gym leader so I can have all of your pictures in it.”

Ahhh. Someone actually wanted my pictures? Like, a collection of my pictures? This was so new and strange to me, and I felt my face heating up. And, of course, Aster had to point it out.

“Dude, your face is red. You okay?”

“I’m fine!” My voice squeaked and cracked. Yowch. No wonder people think I’m prepubescent. Some dudes just have a higher voice, alright? “I’m, um, I’mfine. It’s just…” I trailed off.

“Just…?”

“It’s just  _ noonehaseverwantedtolookatmypictureslikethat _ .” I coughed, clearing my throat. “Sorry. I, um, I mean that people never just want to, l-like, look at my pictures. It’s either t-they hire me for- for, um, weddings and stuff, or I’m just credited a-as an image source in a research paper.” No one has ever really commented on my Portfolio, either. Only acknowledged it, or messages like “I saw wedding pictures and wanted to know if you’d like to do my wedding? Xoxox”.

Not, like, “I’d love to look at your pictures.”

“Aw, dude.” Aster gave me a look of pity. I hated it, but for once it also… made me feel a bit better. It was weird. “No offense, but you need better people in your life.”

I know, wow. “If you, um, want t-to look at the pictures I have…” I offered in the form of a mumble, handing my camera over. Aster took it, wide-eyed, and held the camera like a newborn baby.

He clicked through some of my photos. His eyes glimmered as he looked through them. The first person to ever acknowledge my pictures were looking through my good shots and my bad shots, thinking thoughts I could only imagine, this was a new experience, what if I messed it up somehow? But Aster cleared away those anxious thoughts with a low sigh, and, “Holy crap, Leo, these are amazing!”

Ahhh. I might’ve been fishing a bit for compliments, but don’t blame me.  _ Much _ . I was very, very… compliment-starved. And he was really nice about it. And my heart was fluttering and wow, Aster was so nice to some loser like me and it was great.

“Oh.” He stopped.

Oh, no. I must’ve got a weird shot or something he doesn’t like or something bad on it and he’s not gonna like me anymore—

“Who’s this?” He shows me the picture of the burglar. Ah, the picture I still haven’t deleted.

I gulped. “Um, nobody! That was, um, on a different camera when I got the SD card.” I quickly took the camera back. “I haven’t deleted it yet, sorry.” I hated lying. But how could I explain that I have a picture of a burglar who tried to kidnap me a few nights ago on my camera and that I haven’t turned it into any police yet? I couldn’t even explain to myself why I kept it on me.

That isn’t even how SD cards worked, but Aster didn’t seem to know much about them, because it was just shrugged off. “It’s a little weird picture, though.” He laughed, but there was a lack of… sunshine, in the tone. “It kinda looked like…”

“L-Like what?” Did Aster know this person? My heart skipped a beat, if he did then I’d have to admit to lying that I’d taken the picture of someone who had broken into a lab and tried to kidnap me.

“… It’s stupid. But the all-black clothes kinda look like a Rocket grunt.”

Oh. I guess it did. But I’d never experienced a situation with Team Rocket, the crime syndicate taken down by a twelve-year-old. You know, you’ve got to wonder about how strong it really was if a twelve-year-old took it down, but I think there was more behind the scenes than what’s on Wikipedia.

“W-Weird.” I tried to push back the overheard conversation between Professor Oak and Blue the other day. “U-Um, anyway… I should p-probably find a different spot to take p-pictures. For a d-different angle, you know?”

Social interaction limit has been reached. Leo may experience sudden shutdowns from the outside world in general. Moving out of the situation is highly recommended for a higher performance.

“Oh, sure! Let me help you with it.”

* * *

Aster was too oblivious to see that I was blatantly trying to ditch him. I didn’t even bother protesting, as he had already grabbed my camera tripod from behind me, and Di had picked up my little bag of lenses. I thanked her, picking up the small bag and slinging it across my neck, before grabbing my main bag and my camera.

Aster was surprisingly light company, aside the questions he kept asking. Why do you do this? Why do you do that? You can’t blame him for a natural curiosity. And he kept the trainers off my back, seeing how he’d be the one taking on the Gym challenge, training was good for him.

“How are you at battling, Leo?”

I rolled my eyes, relaxing a bit with the camera in my hand. It felt… natural, what can I say. I shrugged, mumbling, “I don’t know. Wanna see?”

He apparently heard my sarcastic jibe. “Oh, ouch, I didn’t think you had the capacity for sarcasm.”

Oh, gee. “I, um, I d-didn’t mean it like that!”

“I’m messing with you.” Aster said. “Though… Can I take you up on that challenge?”

The battle?

Oh dear, two battles in one day, plus all this social interaction? Why did Professor Oak think I was the best pick for this job again? Biting on my cheek, I nodded. Because, why not, it’s not like I had dug myself a deeper pit. While you may think I’ve hit rock-bottom at this point already, I’ve brought a pickaxe and I was ready to mine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh boy oh hey oh howdy here's another chapter!! It feels like I keep uploading short chapters (I've been managing to gut out chapters like 2-3k long in Spellbound compared to 1k here) but I have everything pre-written from 2018 that I dunno if I'm going to go back and edit anytime soon. 
> 
> The more I re-post of this story, the more I fall in love with it all over again. I've edited some of the outline, and wrote like three sentences of a _new_ chapter while also... completely skipping ahead and writing the last chapter and an epilogue as well. 
> 
> Oops?
> 
> Pokemon fanfiction has always been like. life-sustaining for me. I come back to it every few years and write a lot, and then drop it for while, usually if I'm going through a bad time. like, uh. Right now. With everything happening in the world I guess I can't help but write fanfiction to get away from it all. 
> 
> Anyway I've finally managed to narrow down designs for our boys!! 
> 
> Check them out here! One for [Leo](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/236bea56-316d-480f-9b7b-27ae4bfc0283/de1nala-cad6fab4-dc07-4358-805e-b38bd4c083a3.png/v1/fill/w_1280,h_1707,q_80,strp/leo__pokemon_oc__by_starshiporion_de1nala-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3siaGVpZ2h0IjoiPD0xNzA3IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvMjM2YmVhNTYtMzE2ZC00ODBmLTliN2ItMjdhZTRiZmMwMjgzXC9kZTFuYWxhLWNhZDZmYWI0LWRjMDctNDM1OC04MDVlLWIzOGJkNGMwODNhMy5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.5bhK-oYU9F3Hhw6S1scGXooi5gBbgXOZVyhWPa0QwCo) and one for [Aster](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/236bea56-316d-480f-9b7b-27ae4bfc0283/de1n91m-f85f8d8d-5690-4e10-bc28-bb76c68defaf.png/v1/fill/w_1280,h_1707,q_80,strp/aster__pokemon_oc__by_starshiporion_de1n91m-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3siaGVpZ2h0IjoiPD0xNzA3IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvMjM2YmVhNTYtMzE2ZC00ODBmLTliN2ItMjdhZTRiZmMwMjgzXC9kZTFuOTFtLWY4NWY4ZDhkLTU2OTAtNGUxMC1iYzI4LWJiNzZjNjhkZWZhZi5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19._Unn6V9TTb3KrYRL6Kl1O80qEju5VuCveODrdzCjIuA)!

**Author's Note:**

> If you think this looks familiar, this is a re-upload of something I wrote in 2018! If you actually remember it, wow, hi, that's impressive! If not, I hope you enjoy it! 2020 said cringe culture is dead, so here we are.


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